Shady Side Academy soccer teams work their way to playoff victories

By: George Guido
Saturday, October 29, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Shady Side Academy’s 19th consecutive WPIAL boys soccer appearance got off on the right track as the Bulldogs eliminated Keystone Oaks, 6-1.

The opening-round Class 2A match was played Oct. 24 at Michael J. Farrell Stadium on the Shady Side campus.

“We’re a young team, and it took us a little bit of time to get going,” said Bulldogs coach Ed Ellsworth. “But give Keystone Oaks credit, they tested us in some areas.”

Mitch David led the way for Shady Side (14-3) with two goals. Other scoring for the Bulldogs came from Drew McKim, his 26th of the season, Jackson Suski, his 13th, and two freshman, Harran Zureikat and Manek Gerhardy.

The Golden Eagles, seeded 14th, concluded their season at 7-9-1.

While there are just three seniors listed on the Shady Side roster, playoff experience proved to be important in the first-round contest.

Said Ellsworth: “Both Jackson and Drew were on the field as freshmen in 2020 when we lost in overtime in the WPIAL finals. Those guys and some others have come on for us. We had four freshmen starting for us during the regular season.”

Besides David, Ellsworth praised the play of senior defenseman Ben Snyder.

Junior goalkeeper Joe Krokosky has stepped in for the Bulldogs for several games and has performed well, yielding a single goal to Keystone Oaks.

There were plenty of questions in the preseason as to whether Shady Side could sustain its playoff streak. Thirteen seniors graduated, including nine starters.

“In the pre-section season, we learned some hard lessons,” Ellsworth said. “But they dedicated themselves and ended up winning a share of the section.”

Shady Side and Deer Lakes split the season’s series and both schools were awarded section-winning plaques, per WPIAL policy.

The Bulldogs were set to play a quarterfinal game, also at home, against Beaver.

Girls post victory

It was also a successful first round for the Shady Side Academy girls soccer team, in the playoffs for the 14th straight season.

The No. 6-seeded Bulldogs (10-5) have been plagued by injuries much of the season, but they still managed to register a 6-1 victory Oct. 25 over No. 11 Yough at Michael J. Farrell Stadium.

“All season we were down in numbers due to injuries,” said coach Mary Lynch. “We had three players tear their ACLs in the pre season and had to move a few people around.”

Six players scored goals for Shady Side in the win: senior Morgan Golden, junior Sadie Navid, sophomores Ainsley Chu, Reese Martens and Cooper Danforth and freshman Ella Van Norman.

“That says a lot about our team: Any given night, any individual can step up,” Lynch said. “Our players also did a good job containing McKenzie Pritts.”

Pritts scored her 30th goal of the season to account for the only Cougars tally.

Lynch was also pleased with the effort of freshman goalkeeper Cayah Leavy.

Said Lynch: “This is actually her first year in goal. She had a great game for us.”

The win earned a spot in the quarterfinals at South Park.

The Bulldogs and the Eagles (13-5) split the season series in section play. Shady Side, in fact, lost two of the first three section matches before reeling off seven in a row to conclude the section season.

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